Abazović, Borrell: EC mobilises EUR 200,000 of additional support to Montenegro in its fight against COVID-19 pandemic

Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro Dritan Abazović met with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell Fontelles.

EU High Representative Borrell said that he encouraged Montenegro to continue to achieve results in its European agenda, especially in the area of the rule of law, for the benefit of its citizens. Borrell praised the convincing results that Montenegro is achieving in continuous full harmonization with the EU's positions on foreign and security policy, and thanked Montenegro for its contribution to the missions and operations of the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy. Talking about cooperation between the EU and the Western Balkans in tackling the coronavirus pandemic, Borrell recalled the EUR 70 million grant package for our region, provided by the European Commission to help cover the cost of certain doses of vaccine procured by EU Member States. Borrell said that the EU remains determined to support Montenegro in the fight against the coronavirus. The European Commission mobilised last week almost EUR 200 thousand of additional support in order to contribute to Montenegro's efforts to protect the health of citizens.

Abazović stressed that this meeting is an opportunity to reaffirm Montenegro's unequivocal commitment to work on rule of law reforms, as the most important part of the negotiation process with the EU, with the aim of speeding up the negotiation process and entering the next phase more dynamically, which is temporary closure of negotiation chapters.

Referring to the Government's work in the past 100 days, Abazović said that the Government has shown determination in the fight against crime and corruption, despite problems with the Supreme and Special State Prosecutor's Offices, although, as he said, there have been some changes since the new government was formed. Abazović emphasised the importance of the National Council for the Fight against High-Level Corruption, which monitors and synchronizes the activities of state bodies in the fight against high-level corruption.

Abazović and Borrell discussed current developments within the Union, as well as the epidemiological situation in Europe and the world, and the measures taken to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Abazović emphasised that Montenegro highly appreciates and values the financial and any other assistance of the EU and its members aimed at mitigating the consequences caused by the pandemic, as well as the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans, which was published within the last Enlargement Package.